Westjet Plans August Return to London and Paris

Canadian carrier Westjet has announced plans to resume transatlantic services to London and Paris starting August 20, including three flights weekly between Calgary and Gatwick and twice weekly flights from Calgary to Paris CDG.

By the start of September Westjet says it will be serving 39 domestic routes with increased frequencies, part of an overall plan to boost its schedule over the coming weeks with over 200 daily flights to 48 destinations.

The carrier returned to service in the US in July, flying to five destinations in the US, including from Calgary to Atlanta, LA and Las Vegas, Vancouver to LA, and Toronto to New York LaGuardia and Orlando. There are also weekly services from Toronto to both Cancun and Montego Bay.

The carrier said that the August schedule represented a 10 percent increase compared to July, but a 75 percent decrease compared to August 2019.

WestJet had suspended international operations on March 22 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month the group announced plans to streamline its business “for a competitive future following the COVID-19 crisis”, which included laying off over 3,000 employees.

“Despite these headwinds, we are committed to ensuring air travel remains affordable and accessible to Canadians from coast-to-coast during this difficult time,” Westjet’s chief commercial officer Arved von zur Muehlen said. “While an increase in flying is a positive sign, we are prudently monitoring our guest loads to ensure we are managing our airline and the health of our guests and crew responsibly.”